Your smile is one of your most valuable and precious assets. It speaks every language on Earth, says volumes without ever uttering a word and affects how you feel as well as the way others feel about you. Few things are more powerful, contagious or appealing than a smile.

Research has proven repeatedly that we tend to like people who smile more, find them more attractive and believe that they are friendlier and more approachable.

Smiling is something we do from the time we’re born. It’s a natural, innate behavior with real life and health benefits. Let me share with you five of my best reasons for smiling.

1. A smile makes you look younger.
Science has taught us that smiling is one of Mother Nature’s anti-aging remedies. Research has shown that when people are asked to determine the age of adult strangers in photos, they consistently guessed that those smiling were younger than their actual age.

When the photos show people not smiling, observers were more likely to guess their age accurately. So, if you want to look younger, just put on your best smile!

2. A smile makes you look more attractive.
A study published in the American Psychological Association journal showed that men who viewed photos of smiling women found them more attractive.

“Our thinking is that smiling probably makes women look more feminine, which increases female attractiveness,” says Jessica Tracy, Ph.D., director of the Emotion and Self Lab at the University of British Columbia.

However, we don’t need science to tell us this because we all know this intuitively and experientially. A healthy smile is a powerful magnet for attracting the opposite sex.

3. A smile draws people to you.
We all learn this early in life. A smile makes you appear happier and friendlier and, as a result, more approachable.

A smile is an “approach cue,” says Michael Lewis, Ph.D., of Cardiff University, in Britain. In a study he conducted, people were more apt to approach a smiling person.

4. A smile reduces stress.
Smiling is one of Mother Nature’s over-the-counter remedies for stress.

Studies show that people who smile after they engage in stress-inducing tasks show a greater reduction in heart rate than those who maintain a neutral facial expression.

Smiling sends a cue throughout our system that helps to relax us mentally and physically.

5. A smile improves your mood.
Smiling won’t make your problems disappear, but it can improve your mood, making it easier to deal with the issue at hand.

That’s why it makes good sense to find reasons to smile every day and be mindful of the people in your life. Spending time with people who make you smile may be one of the most powerful, yet simple, things you can do for good mental health.

There are, of course, countless other motivations for smiling. The reality is that your life – as well as the lives of those around you – improves when you wear a smile. The world would be a much better place if we would all smile a lot more at friends and strangers alike.

So give yourself the benefits of this simple gesture and make a point to smile more. It’s free and comes in a one-size-fits-all package.

As I see it, a face without a smile is like a summer day without sunshine.